Welfare chief steps down after reports of waste

Associated Press

Updated: Feb 1, 2013 10:07 AM

BOSTON (AP) — The chief of the state's welfare system has resigned in the wake of a report that found widespread waste and the distribution of millions of dollars to people not eligible for benefits.

The internal report found that 47,000 families receiving taxpayer-funded benefits are unaccounted for, and nearly $30 million in food stamp money went to ineligible recipients.

The welfare department also admitted that it overpaid federal food stamp recipients by almost $28 million since 2010.

The state Inspector General found that the Department of Transitional Assistance had handed out about $25 million in benefits to people whose eligibility wasn't confirmed.

The Boston Herald reports that Secretary of Health and Human Services John Polanowicz asked for and received the resignation of Department of Transitional Assistance commissioner Daniel Curley on Thursday.

Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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